Hi Everyone,
It's my first trip to Italy and have been wanting to go for years. Very excited and wonderfully overwhelmed. We plan to stay in Venice for 2 nights and take the train to Rome. We will have 2 large cases and 1 carry on. We can't lift too much due to a hernia. Which train station should we use? We are looking for a modern station that is accessible and convenient. Thank you.
Santa Lucia is the train station in Venice. Mestre is the town on the mainland.
When you exit the train station at Santa Lucia and go towards the docks for a boat, there is a ramp to your right so you can avoid the stairs.
There will be some lifting of luggage on and off the vaporetto and then possibly from the vaporetto stop to your hotel. If this is a problem you might want to get a water taxi at the train station and they will take you as close to your hotel as possible and help with your luggage on and off the boat. The same for your return.
Assuming you are staying in Venice proper then the answer is Santa Lucia.
How big is 'large'? How long is your total trip? I would rethink taking 2 large cases even if I didn't have a hernia. Taking the train to Rome will involve lifting the luggage up into the train at the very least, even if you are able to find escalators/elevators for other things. And unless your hotel is on a major canal there will be bridges/steps involved in Venice.
Just to be clear at the outset, I am not one of what I consider the Rick Steves pack light fanatics; but it looks to me like you are schlepping way too much. We travel with a 20 or 22” bag and some sort of carryon each. The latter is more for insurance in case of luggage delay and for keeping valuables with us than for additional space. In the checked bag, I am able to fit a week’s worth of underwear, a change of shoes, sleepwear, at least 7 tops, 4 or 5 bottoms, a light jacket, umbrella, a couple of books, and toiletries and meds, I see absolutely no reason to use anything larger. I strongly suggest you rethink your packing.
By the way, we are past the age of being able to lift even a carryon into an overhead bin or up a flight of stairs. We have consistently found fellow travelers, locals and tourists, to be quick to volunteer assistance.
Said another way, if you stayed or stopped in Mestre, you'd pretty much have to take the train to Santa Lucia every day in order to see any of the Venice you're going there to see in the first place.
No to Mestre!
Having travelled all around Europe for many years, and in particular Venice and Rome, two of my favourite cities, and having had a hernia many years ago, can I say, please, with emphasis, that travelling on trains, buses and vaporettos with a hernia, with 2 large cases and a carry on - Do Not Mix.
If you do that you are asking for trouble. It isn't the carrying a long way with weight that is the trouble, it is the lifting and replacing the heavy weight that causes the trouble. Please, please, please, consider ways of bring less stuff.
Have you seen our host's pages here about packing? Well worth a look. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light
You will thank him - and me. Really.
Has your hernia been repaired, or is it still trying to escape? Has your doctor given you a limit for how much she/he will allow you to lift and carry?
There are hotels in Venice, including one of my favourites, the Ala, which are level from a vaporetto stop and don't require carrying a suitcase over a bridge. There are some near the station - don't know any as I've never stayed in that part of town which don't require a vaporetto.
But you still have to lift luggage on and off a train, and it is about 700 or 800 mm lifting.
Depart at the Venice train station as advised. Unfortunately, the other writers are correct; you will need to lift your suitcase on and off the trains. There are typically two steps and typically others trying to board, who will not queue up and wait.
We have traveled with larger suitcases and found getting on trains a process and not easy. Try, as others have suggested to reduce your load as that will make traveling easier.
In Venice, the vaperetto will be even more challenging. There are many bridges, whic are part of the charm of Venice, but will be a challenge with luggage.
Try and lighten you load and enjoy your trip
What everyone else said.
Stay in Venice itself for the best experience.
You can probably get your luggage weight way down from two huge suitcases.
Have a look at this site about Venice, particularly the luggage part and bridges.
https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/top-tourist-mistakes-7.htm
Italian trains are not at platform level when getting on and off.
There are not the same "accessibility " conveniences like there may be where you live.
You have to climb up three or four steep high steps to get on board with your bags, and it's not easy.
There is no "same level" rolling on and off when using trains there.
Here is a video showing the steps.
I've seen them higher on some trains.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvDmRQPo5vM
And as others have said, the people behind you may get impatient when you can't manage your own bags.
You may want to book a hotel near the train station, to avoid the bridges getting to one further away.
Not trying to put you off! but just wanting you to have an easy holiday with no surprises.
What others have said.
I travel for up to 4-1/2 months at a time with a 23" or 23.5" bag (counting wheels and handle), and that allows space for 5+ pounds of medically necessary vitamins and medications, plus a fair amount of printed information about the many places I go during a trip of that length. I have no hernia, and it's difficult to manage a bag of even that size, especially at the beginning of the trip when it weighs over 30 lb.
Before the end of Day 1 you will very much regret taking a large bag, but you will be stuck with it for the rest of the trip. Please reconsider.
Incidentally, two days in Venice is really too short. If that's your arrival point from the US or Canada, the first day may well be pretty much lost due to sleep-deprivation and jetlag. You'll probably be wandering around in a mental fog. That gives you just one real day to see Venice, which will likely mean you spend all your wide-awake time at the same few sights everyone else wants to see. There is a substantial risk that you won't much like Venice at all because of the crowds. Give yourself some more time there so you have time to wander off the beaten path and see the non-touristy side of Venice.
We will have 2 large cases and 1 carry on
What is 'large'? How large is the carry on?
Correct to assume this is the luggage for 2 people?
If you cannot manage your loaded luggage up/down a flight of stairs at home, you will be having issues in Italy.
Many/most of all the bridges in Venice have stairs.
Have your doctor advise how much you can safely lift and get your bag to conform to that limit.
The hotel Santa Lucia is located just steps from the Santa Lucia station. If you don’t want to drag your luggage then just stay as close as possible to the station.
I would do some more research regarding Venice to know what you're getting yourself into.
The tourist's Venice is in the lagoon, and except for the parking garage and bus/ship terminals has no roads for vehicles. It also has over 400 bridges; all of which have stairs.
Venezia Santa Lucia train station is the station in the lagoon at the end of the causeway. While there are hotels in that corner of Venice where you wouldn't need to negotiate bridges with your luggage, they have the reputation for being expensive and less than inviting.
The real charm of Venice is found deep in the cluster of islands surrounding the Grand Canal but as far away as possible from the main tourist corridor that extends from Piazzale Roma/Santa Lucia to Piazza San Marco. However, schlepping your 2 large & 1 carry-on bags over numerous bridges and through a colossal crowd is not fun (funny to watch but not fun to undertake).
Don't underestimate the significance of Nigel's advise regarding luggage and transport. I juggled my luggage as well as my 80+ yo mother's on public transportation from Venice Marco Polo to Florence to Rome to FCO and it wasn't easy (nor particularly fun). The only thing that saved the day(s) was that I had the foresight to buy a rolling suite case/back pack combo. I wore my bag on my back and carried hers while negotiating stairs and trains.
The good news, Italian cities are full of reasonably priced holiday apartments. I had no problem finding 2 Bed/2 Bath flats with cloths washers (one had an American style drier as well) in elevator (lift) served buildings in Venice, Florence and Rome. Cheaper than hotels, more space to spread out and be comfortable and we could do laundry (which easily dried on the provided drying rack overnight).
Do you both have hernias?
Please take to heart all the advice already given about packing light. This is my favorite recent posting from the packing forum: Why didn't I listen to you, Rick? Packing Educational and funny.
This Sarah Murdoch Travel Talk, Packing Light & Right, is also an eye opener for anyone who thinks they need to take big full bags.
If you each can't manage your bags on your own, your bags are too big and you're taking too much stuff. Although my gray hair and wrinkles attracts helpers who called me Nonna in Italy, and I have accepted their advice and help on occasion, I figure that if I can't manage my luggage myself, I shouldn't be traveling the way I do.
For all my trips ranging from 3 weeks to 4 months, I've used a carry-on and a personal item. Due to contrary knees, I switched from a backpack to a roller bag a few years back. I pack for a week and do laundry along the way -- some sink washing, some DIY laundromat and some laundry service.
This year's trip will be for 5 weeks and I'll be taking this international roller bag (20.25"x14"x8" including wheels and handle, 4lbs, 9oz empty) and this cross-body bag ( 13.6"x11.8"x4," 2.2oz empty).
Both will work on the 3 intra-European flights I have if I can keep their packed weights down. One European airline says 4.4lbs for the cross-body and 17lbs for the roller bag, one says 22lbs for the 2 bags combined. I did get tickets that will allow me to check the "big" one if I fail in packing that lightly.
Many on the forum pack lighter and use smaller bags than I do. Some pack heavier and use bigger ones. You need to decide what's best for you, but you've already stated a significant reason for packing on the light side.
